{"id":2584,"date":"2020-12-04T15:10:42","date_gmt":"2020-12-04T21:10:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/evglobe.com\/?p=2584"},"modified":"2020-12-04T15:10:42","modified_gmt":"2020-12-04T21:10:42","slug":"quick-drive-audi-e-tron-sportback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/evglobe.com\/2020\/12\/04\/quick-drive-audi-e-tron-sportback\/","title":{"rendered":"QUICK DRIVE: Audi e-tron Sportback"},"content":{"rendered":"
Few weeks ago I saw an Audi e-tron Sportback extended test drive offer advertised on social media. Audi must have picked up my cross shopping searches when I bought my wife\u2019s Jaguar I-Pace a few months ago. Since I am always shopping for a new car, I didn\u2019t pass up on this test drive opportunity. I cleared my calendar and planned my day running errands around town with the Audi e-tron<\/a> for the day. However my day didn\u2019t go exactly as planned.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I started my day with 6am meetings and then got my toddler ready for pre-school at 8am. Totally out of the blue, he decided to play hooky for the day and refused to get out of the car at school drop off.\u00a0 With the Audi representative 30 minutes away from my house, I had no choice but to take my toddler back home with me.<\/span><\/p>\n My wife was tied up all day with zoom meetings so I was left with Daddy Daycare duty. <\/span>Trying <\/span><\/i>to be a responsible parent, I couldn\u2019t let my child skip school and watch TV all day so the next best thing is to take him on the test drive adventure with me. I quickly installed our spare Diono Radian RXT and off we went.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Drive<\/b><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n When I first started the vehicle, I immediately received a Facetime call on the pre-installed iPad in the vehicle. The Audi virtual representative gave a brief overview of the features in the 2021 Audi e-tron Sportback Prestige, along with a $90,000 sticker shock.\u00a0 (I was shopping for a normal e-tron Premium Plus, which was 70k-ish)\u00a0 I drove along the Mulholland Dr to test out the long list of Drive Select as follows:<\/span><\/p>\n I ended up using Auto mode the most because the vehicle is smarter than I am and I can access the Dynamic\u2019s Power Boost mode as needed by toggling the shifter back and forth between D and S mode.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Combination of adaptive dampers and the wonderful MLB chassis make for a very compliant and responsive large EV crossover.\u00a0 The suspension comfort was there when my toddler was napping and it stiffened up when I started driving like an idiot. The acceleration and power delivery was very progressive, which is very different from the usual kick in the boot feeling I am used to from Tesla and Jaguar. This can be viewed as either a good thing, for comfort and for saving the motor mounts, or it could be viewed as Audi sandbagging the performance to leave headroom for the RS models and future products from Porsches. \u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n After driving the nicely paved surface of Mulholland Dr. (LADOT does fix the roads during COVID) I decided to test the Audi e-tron on some rougher surfaces.\u00a0 I visited Nike Missile Control Site LA-96 which has some dirt\/gravel road.\u00a0 I set the e-tron Drive Select on All-Road mode and slowly drove up to the missile battery trailhead. The ride was so comfortable that my toddler didn\u2019t bother waking up until we were parked at the gates.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After we finished hiking the towers and different battery sites, I set the e-Tron back down the road on Hill Descent Control, capping the speed under 10mph which other hikers appreciated as the vehicle gently drove past them without kicking up a dust cloud. I recalled the previous experience on this road with my wife\u2019s old GLC350e and that was as bouncy as a rodeo ride. The Audi e-tron truly shines on this road.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Cabin Space\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n While Audi may not boast a competitive battery range, of just 215 miles, it can certainly blow the competition away with interior space and quality. It looks and feels premium with the mix of leather and suede material on the doors and dash.\u00a0 The new Audi MMI with tiles is a huge improvement over the previous generation with rotary menus. Wireless Apple CarPlay works well with the new touchscreen. <\/span>However the touchscreen\u2019s haptic feedback takes a bit to get used to.\u00a0 New users will mistake the screen for being unresponsive if they don’t give it a hard press.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n\n